Posts Tagged 'pizza'

I will call this post “delicious”

Jay and I agree that pizza is one of those things we could never get sick of. When I think of takeout and ordering food I automatically think of pizza. In my mind, there are three constant ingredients – dough, sauce, and cheese. After that, the pizza is an empty canvas begging to be filled with colourful toppings that result in a picture of deliciousness. The pizza I made this week was inspired by a Weight Watchers recipe from the Turnaround Program Cookbook, which consisted of goat cheese, caramelize onions, tomatoes, and black olives but I added a few other toppings. The dough recipe came from Engineer Baker (recipe here).

Pizza, makes 6 servings

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion thinly sliced

Salt

2 tsp butter

8 plum tomatoes, chopped (about 3 1/2 cups) I used about 2 cups of canned crushed tomatoes

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 pound prepared fresh or thawed frozen pizza or bread dough

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

10 black olives, pitted and chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried

First start the pizza dough and follow preheating instructions. About a half hour before the dough is ready to be baked, start caramelizing the onion by heating the oil in a skillet/pan, then adding the onions and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the onion is golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In the same pan melt the butter and add the tomatoes and sugar. Stir frequently until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and simmer about a minute. When the dough is ready, spread the tomato mixture over top along with the onions and the rest of the toppings. On my pizza I added crumbled feta cheese, fire roasted red peppers, and roasted tomatoes. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the goat cheese looks slightly toasted on top.

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Iced tea, pizza and cookies

It was Canada Day yesterday and Jay and I decided to walk through High Park where our local MP was hosting a picnic. We only stayed long enough to watch a group of belly dancers perform their dance routine before we continued our walk toward the lake. It was a gorgeous day and I was surprised it didn’t rain.

As we made our way back home we began to ponder what we would have for dinner. I suggested we order a pizza because I had been craving pizza for a while. Jay suggested we make pizza and I somewhat grudgingly agreed. I wasn’t really in the mood to cook but I didn’t really mind since pizza is super easy to make.

I decided to use the Uno’s Deep Dish pizza recipe (same recipe I used for Jay’s Pizza Pops). I have to say that this pizza dough recipe is way better as a deep dish pizza than as a pizza pop.

While the pizza dough was rising I felt inspired to make a small dessert. I pulled out my Small Batch Baking Book and I flipped through each page until I found something I could make; Cream-Filled Chocolate Cookies. The book describes these cookies as being sweet and very similar to Oreos. The book is right. The cookies were very sweet and if I ever make them again I’ll only use half the sugar. It’s a good thing the recipe is from the Small Batch Baking Book and only makes enough for six cookies.

Earlier in the day I had a strong desire for iced tea, but not Nestea or other traditional iced teas. I wanted to make steeped iced tea and I chose Lipton’s Chamomile tea. I used 6 tea bags and 6 cups of boiling water. I let it steep for about 5 minutes then I added a generous squeeze of honey, almost an entire tray of ice cubes and then I popped the pitcher in the freezer. It wasn’t until after we returned from our walk that I remembered I had left the tea in the freezer. Luckily it wasn’t frozen solid. It was just right and so refreshing after a long walk.

With the pizza, cookies and iced tea ready, Jay and I settled back to watch a documentary while we ate our scrumptious dinner. This is what I consider a perfect way to end the day.

Steeping 6 bags of chamomile tea

Steeping 6 bags of chamomile tea

I love watching an entire ice cube tray melt in a matter of seconds.

The contents of an entire ice cube tray melting in a matter of seconds.

Pizza dough ready for toppings.

Pizza dough ready for toppings.

Delicious deep dish pizza!

Delicious deep dish pizza!

Chocolate cookies ready to be assembled.

Chocolate cookies ready to be assembled.

Chocolate cream-filled cookies. Yummy but a bit too sweet.

Cream-filled chocolate cookies. Yummy but a bit too sweet.


Potato Pizza

We just finished eating a ridiculously unhealthy and oily, yet sinfully satisfying and scrumptious “pizza.”

Essentially, all I really did was fry up two coarsely grated potatoes and shaped them into a pancake. Once it was fried I topped that with diced canned tomatoes, mushrooms, pepperoni, onions and mozzarella. I was afraid the bits of potato would stick to the pan so I poured the oil into the pan like it was a deep fryer. I think next time I make this I will go easy on the oil.

I baked this at 450F for 10 minutes and…voila! I’ve gained back those five pounds I lost last week!

Potato Pizza